Robinson adjusts to receiver role

MOBILE, Ala. -- Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson chose to switch positions to wide receiver and has worked on his skills since starting practice at the Senior Bowl.

MOBILE, Ala. -- Although he battled through an elbow injury throughout his senior season at the University of Michigan, quarterback Denard Robinson completed 89 of 167 attempts for 1,319 yards and nine touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also ran for 1,266 yards and seven touchdowns.

Despite his success at Michigan, Robinson, a 6-foot, 197-pound native of Deerfield Beach, Fla., decided on switching to wide receiver before making the jump from college football to the NFL.

“I live life with no regrets,” Robinson said. “I made this choice, and it’s time to have fun with it, and make the most of it. That’s how I look at it. I’ve got to make the most of it, keep going and work hard, work my butt off. I know I’m a competitor. I want to be the best, so I’m going to train like the best.

“I’m having fun with it, just playing football. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. God gave me a talent and I want to make the most of it.”

When talking about the position change, Robinson said being a quarterback has helped him.

“You understand what a quarterback is thinking,” Robinson said. “When you see a certain coverage, you see a certain move by a safety, you understand how to break a route and instead of going underneath a defender, trying to go over top of him. A lot of things like that, little things help me out.”

This week, Robinson has focused his efforts on honing his craft and competing against some of the best defensive backs in the country at the 2013 Senior Bowl. While he was limited at the beginning of the week, Robinson returned to the field and was able to work on developing his skills as a wide receiver.

“It’s always going to be a learning experience,” Robinson said. “I know I’m going to have a lot of things I’m going to be mad about, but you just get over it and just keep going. If you make plays against these guys, these guys are the best, so it’s going to mean a lot.

“I’ve been playing football for a while. I’m an athlete, so I’ve just got to pick it up and try to learn it.”

While he is new to the wide receiver position, Robinson has impressed both Senior Bowl coaches, North team leader Dennis Allen and South coach Jim Schwartz. Schwartz, coach of the Detroit Lions, had the opportunity to watch Robinson a lot during his collegiate career.

“It’s going to be a learning experience for him because there’s going to a position switch there, but the one thing you see, and it stands out, the guy’s explosive and he’s really good with the ball in his hands,” Allen said. “He’s a very confident player. He has a lot of confidence in his ability, but at the same time, he understands that he doesn’t know everything that he needs to know about playing the wide receiver position. He’s very willing to learn, and that’s the biggest thing.”

Schwartz added, “In the last couple years, I’ve been able to see him play a lot of college games. He’s certainly an exciting college player. When the ball’s in his hands, he’s a playmaker. He’s playing a position that’s new to him, but I’m sure that with him, it’s just a matter of getting some time in at the position. He’s hard to handle for defenses.”